Justin Taylor (jstn_sunshine) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2017-01-07 00:23:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, justin taylor, margrave royston |
Who: Justin Taylor and Margrave Royston
When: Backdated: The week before Christmas
Where: The Grove
What: The paparazzi have caught on
Rating/Warnings: Family Friendly
Status: Complete
Justin had missed going out on dates. Since Billy had left, the extent of Justin’s love life had been hookups with random guys at clubs or with Danny, before he’d ended up in a relationship. Since meeting Royston though, Justin had been wanting to ask the older man out on a date and it had been their loss of inhibitions around Halloween that had given him the courage to do just that. Not long after their makeout session at the club Justin had finally asked Royston out, knowing without a doubt that it was unlikely he’d say no. That date had gone well, so now here they were, finishing dinner of their second date.
They had chosen a restaurant at The Grove, not wanting to do anything too fancy, but wanting to go somewhere nice at the same time. And then there was the fact the The Grove was decorated for Christmas and with the snow, it gave the whole evening a nice feeling to it. “Did I tell you that last week I saw Herbie, the elf from Rudolph?” He asked as they were putting on their jackets to leave the restaurant.
Royston himself hasn’t really been a man with any relationships to speak of since Erik. Justin hadn’t been something he’d intended on. Relationships were tricky and he didn’t know if it was a good idea to get involved with someone. It didn’t stop the feelings that he had, but he hadn’t acted on them until the night at the club and that hadn’t been completely his choice. He knew he’d wanted to do all of it, but he usually had more restraint. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to regret his actions considering it was returned. Justin had chosen to continue to see him despite the possible troubles that came along with it.
He was happy enough that this was his second date and he hoped that there was more than the second. He also hoped that nothing would really ruin it. There was always a chance that the paparazzi could always be too much, but he hoped not. “Did you?” He adjusted his jacket carefully, making sure he looked somewhat presentable. It was a habit from years of being at the mercy of the paparazzi. Either you looked good at all times or people captured you at inopportune times and made you look sloppy. “That must have been interesting. I think I saw a few characters out and about, but I didn’t really introduce myself to any of them.” He walked toward the door, his hand on the small of Justin’s back. “So did you enjoy yourself tonight?”
After all the crazy shit that had happened to and around Justin in his dreams, he was pretty sure he could handle a little scandal; not that he thought there would be much scandal around him and Royston considering he was in his mid twenties despite the fact that he looked younger so there was no chance of an underage scandal and as far as paparazzi went, Justin worked at a TV studio so he’d seen various actors get swarmed by paparazzi before and thought he could handle it if it ever came to that. Chances were, Justin would just flip them off.
“Yeah, he was standing outside of a dentist’s office.” Justin smiled at Royston as he adjusted his scarf, wishing he didn’t have to wear a jacket so that he could feel Royston’s hand on his back better. “I did. I’ve never been here before, so this was nice.” While he’d been to The Grove often, he’d never come to this particular restaurant before.
Royston chuckled softly. “Outside the dentist’s office. That’s a peculiar place for an elf. But then I guess not so much for one that simply wants to be a dentist.” He hadn’t really watched it recently, but he had a vague recollection of the fact that the elf had wanted to be a dentist. Something about being misfits. He had a feeling that he was a misfit as far as his family was concerned. “Well, I’m glad to have chosen well.” He had wanted to make the evening nice for the both of them. He’d enjoyed himself and being with Justin was one of the better parts of the OC. “Perhaps we’ll have to try a few other restaurants around the area,” he said as he opened the door, waiting for Justin to go through before doing so himself.
The moment they stepped outside, he knew whatever quiet evening he’d planned had been ruined. He hadn’t been quite so aware of the things around him, but then he likely wouldn’t have paid much mind to the whispers and photographs taken on phones. The flash of multiple cameras, however, was not particularly subtle. He glanced over at Justin with a hint of apology on his face. “It seems we’ve been found out.”
“Exactly. I’m not sure though, if he couldn’t get in or if he was too intimidated. I was driving, so I couldn’t really stop to find out.” Justin said as they stepped out of the restaurant and into a group of photographers. If he were honest, he was surprised that no one had found them out sooner, considering they weren’t exactly discreet when they went out.
Meeting Royston’s eyes, he shrugged, “Guess it was going to happen eventually.” Reaching out, he laced their fingers together, “But that doesn’t mean we have to make this easy for them.” The longer they stood there, the more pictures the paps could get, but if they started moving, it’d be a little more difficult for them to get good ones.
Royston tried to drown out the stream of questions. He shifted his expression into one of boredom rather than one that gave any real emotion about the situation. It was better to pretend that he wasn’t frustrated or annoyed at the fact that privacy was a word they didn’t seem to know. He couldn’t help the hint of surprise at the feeling of Justin’s fingers moving between his. “Right. I suppose we had better,” he said after he managed to get his expression under control again.
Then he started to move, attempting to keep himself from getting photographed. They’d have their story, yes, but he could at least minimize the number of useable photographs. Royston once again in a relationship with a young man. Or was it simply another tryst? He was sure he’d know by the time that the story hit the press.
Justin was tempted to flip off the photographers, but he figured that might get Royston in trouble with his publicist or something so instead he kept his head down as they walked. “Should we head for the car?” He asked, getting a little closer to Royston in an attempt to keep their destination between the two of them and not the photographers. “Or should we try and lose them first?” Considering The Grove was a pretty populated area, it probably wouldn’t be too difficult to lose the paparazzi by going into the movie theater or another store and attempting to go out a back door while the photographers waited out front for them to appear again.
Royston considered it for a moment. He could see running away to the car being a mix of easy and complicated. Mostly because they’d have to make it through the crowd to get there and there was still going to be some difficulty getting past everyone. Plus, they’d probably get a picture of his license plate and follow him around everywhere. Trying to lose them first would make it a game. There was a hint of a smirk on his lips as he said, “Let’s make it a game. Try to lose them and see which ones are the quick thinkers and which ones will just wait for us.” He’d been far too bored these last few months with keeping himself to his house most of the time. “If we get away, I won’t have to sell my car and get a new one.” That was said with a wink. He had no real intention of selling the car and getting a new one once that happened. He’d just have to find a way around the problem.
“Isn’t that why celebrities have more than one car,” Justin teased, smirking as he led the way towards the more populated side of The Grove where it might be a little harder for the photographers to follow too closely and they could slip into one of the stores in the hopes that they had a back door they could then slip out of after. “To make it harder on the paparazzi to find them?”
Royston chuckled a little as they walked, making a way past people as quickly as they could. “You’d think that, but then I don’t have the space to hide a collection of cars. Just enough house to distract from the small garage.” It was the easiest way to keep people from suspecting. He’d chosen a smaller house. Not that it was small, really. Just that he could have gotten something flashier, but he’d decided that if he was meant to keep a low profile, having a house with a low profile was probably necessary. But he supposed he couldn’t be low profile forever.
He waited for a couple stores to go past before he pulled Justin toward one, opening the door and slipping in. As he looked around, he noted a lot of clothing. If nothing else, they could buy entirely different wardrobes and see if that helped. If he was lucky, there might be wigs to add to the experience. If not, it would probably be enough just to have different clothes.
“You could have an underground garage built. Like the Batcave.” Justin grinned, trying to keep Royston’s mind off the paparazzi as much as was possible what with them not that far away. Once inside the store, Justin glanced towards the windows to see that the photographers were now waiting outside, a foot or so from the front of the store, “Oh, isn’t it so nice of them to leave space for customers to come in and out.” He rolled his eyes then glanced around the store. “How long should we hang out before we see if they have a back exit?”
That drew out another laugh. “I’ll have to keep that in mind. Batcave. I’ll put it on my list of things I need if I ever look for a new place.” He looked out the windows, nose wrinkling slightly. “Paparazzi are known for their kindness and generosity, of course.” He turned away and walked around looking at a few things on the rack. The clothes were a little more vintage than he usually went for, but that didn’t really matter. “We can always ask and then bide our time. Though, that depends on how many will get the idea that we might exit out the back.” He glanced over at Justin before walking over to speak to the girl behind the counter. They needed a way out. It was just a matter of finding out if there was somewhere. Even just a large window. When he came back, he moved next to Justin. “She says there’s a door where deliveries come in. Also the bathroom has a sizeable window. I figure we can check the door first.”